Not Blood but Heart
by Baywood
Summary: (WBWL)"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."-Johann Schiller. The wizard world thinks Sirius Black is after Julian Potter to finish the job He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started, but in reality a battered godfather reunites with a neglected son, and another tries to protect his godson from his father. A not-quite multiXover, explanation inside.
1. A Singularly Stupid Idea

Disclaimer: disclaiming ownership of HP. Woo-hoo

**Chapter 1**

**A Singularly Stupid Idea, Sirius Style**

In dog form, Sirius paced back and forth across the cold cell floor. He couldn't believe Peter had gotten away with it. Even after all these years he could hardly believe that everyone had been fooled too easily into believing he, James Potter's closest friend since first year at Hogwarts, had betrayed him. Sirius growled. Peter should have been a Slytherin. He would have fit right in.

Sirius wanted to keep pacing, his anger and frustration fueling him instead of food, but he knew he shouldn't. He needed to conserve his strength.

_But for what?_ he thought morosely as he collapsed on the ground, anger replaced by despair amplified by the cold atmosphere of Azkaban. Thankfully, being in his animagus form weakened the dementors' effects on him, but that did nothing to shield him from the depressing atmosphere of Azkaban as a whole.

Resting his chin on his paws, Sirius's mind wandered, not for the first time, back to the newspaper he'd seen just a few days ago. The guards had been taunting him, as they often did. This last time they had been talking loudly about how James Potter was doing well, very alive, and so was his son. The guards, of course, had no idea that this was a very comforting piece of information for Sirius. What _was_ depressing though was the fact that they were celebrating Julian Potter's seventh birthday without him.

It did tell him how long he'd been here though. Six years now. Six years in this hell hole. Well, almost. It would be six years in a couple of months, once they reached Halloween. But something else had been bothering Sirius. He had asked to see the newspaper, and after a bit of cajoling they had tossed it to him, watching his reaction carefully.

Sirius had snatched the paper like a starving man, which he was, but this time starved for information. He had read the article over and over, taking in the reverence and awe of the Boy-Who-Lived, the bravery of his poor father James, how horrible Sirius Black was, and how thankful they were the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone. But one thing was missing—a name. The name had been missing from the few other papers he'd seen over the years.

Sirius had scowled at the paper, anger and frustration churning in his chest as he threw the newspaper back through the bars.

Giving a huge dog-sigh, Sirius deflated. It was like he didn't even exist. Surely someone would have mentioned him? Just his name, or maybe his status as twin. He would definitely have been mentioned if Voldemort had killed him… right?

A whine escaped Sirius on accident. What had happened to him? Was he alright? Was he alive?

Where was Harry Potter?

.o.0.O.0.o.

Potter Manor was huge. Sometimes, James felt, it was just too big, especially when it was inhabited by three bachelors; James, Julian, and Remus. But it was necessary. Their home in Godric's Hollow had been decimated, and would take a lot of time and work to rebuild with all the protective enchantments. Plus, it was the place where Lily had died, and that made it hard for James to be there. Potter Manor had been the next best option, surrounded with a plethora of defensive, warding, and protective enchantments and complete with all the space needed for Julian's training.

James lounged back comfortably in his chair, watching his son. They were outside, basking in the summer sun, while Remus coached Julian on the use of wordless magic. James grinned at the sight. It wasn't working well. Julian didn't have a very long attention span, and while he applied himself as well as he could, concentrating was a bit difficult for him.

He could tell Remus was getting ready to give up on his godson, and save this lesson for a later date. After all, Julian was only seven, and while talented, and hadn't shown the unprecedented amount of power the general public believed he had.

"James!" a voice called.

James startled and sat bolt upright in his chair, stiffening up before he recognized the voice as Arthur Weasley. James had given the Weasleys access to the Potter Manor's floo just this year, and still got a little nervous when they arrived unannounced, though it wasn't often since they didn't like to intrude, not matter how many times James insisted they come whenever they liked.

"Ron!" Julian called happily, abandoning his godfather and running over to greet his friend.

James smiled at his happy son and stood from his chair. "Arthur," he greeted genially. "What brings you here?"

"The boys haven't seen each other in a while," Arthur explained easily, but his shoulders were a bit tense. "I thought we could talk while they played."

"Yay!" Julian cheered, before waving a quick goodbye dragging Ron away.

Remus came up behind James, eyes shining with concern. "Is something wrong, Arthur? You usually don't show up like this."

Arthur's easy expression turned grim, and James's gut clenched.

"What is it?" James asked, gritting his teeth and mentally preparing himself for bad news.

Arthur sighed heavily and answered, "A few days ago, Sirius Black escaped Azkaban."

For a moment the words didn't fully register, and both of Sirius's former friends were shocked into silence.

"What?" James managed to choke out. "H-how… that's…"

"That's not possible," Remus breathed, seemingly more composed than James. "No one's ever escaped Azkaban."

"Sirius Black has," Arthur reiterated. "Only Merlin knows how, but he's done it. One day he was there, and the next he wasn't."

"B-but… why now?" James asked. "If he could escape, why wait six years?"

Arthur shrugged. "We don't know yet. The Aurors are looking into it, talking to the guards, but as far as Dumbledore knows, he gave everyone the slip. It'll probably be in the Prophet in the next few days, and you'll probably be asked for an interview, but Dumbledore thought you should know before everyone else did."

James didn't know what to say. 'Thank you' just didn't seem right, because James almost wished he could live in ignorant bliss. Sirius had escaped. His once best friend, who had turned traitor and betrayed them to Voldemort to be murdered was on the loose.

"Thank you, Arthur," Remus said for James. "Thank you for coming all this way to tell us."

Arthur nodded. "It was nothing. Ron is always eager for the opportunity to see Julian."

"Does Dumbledore know what he might be after? Or who?" James asked, even as he worried that the answer was running around the yard.

Arthur shook his head. "Not yet. But I'm sure you'll be the first to know."

That James could be thankful for, and said so.

Arthur stayed for a couple of hours, conversing about little things with James and Remus while Julian and Ron played. James was glad for the Weasley boy's friendship with his son. Julian was aware, even on a small level, why he was being trained, and it wasn't happy thought. Plus, Julian didn't get too many opportunities to get out. They were always worried about retaliation from Death Eaters or blood purists, thought, thankfully, that worry was receding. Julian spent most of his time with just James and Remus.

"We should take the boys to meet Neville Longbottom some time," Arthur commented, seemingly out of the blue. But then James realized that the conversation had lapsed and they were all staring at the two boys running around with un-enchanted brooms, pretending to play Quidditch.

"Frank and Alice's son?" Remus asked.

Arthur nodded in confirmation. "He lives with his grandmother now, and it would do the boys good to have another friend."

"Yes, it would," James agreed. "I can't imagine Neville sees many other boys his age living with Augusta Longbottom."

Arthur chuckled. "Indeed not."

After that they gave the two boys the ten minute warning, and the Weasleys left soon after. Remus and James opted on telling Julian a bare-bone, watered-down version (as they often decided to do) of what Sirius Black had done to their family. James hated to keep his son in the dark, even if it meant exposing him to the Dark, so they told him.

.o.0.O.0.o.

Morning saw Sirius padding down the sidewalk of Little Whinging, intent on one thing: find Harry Potter. He just had to make sure he was alive. With an old Black family wand Sirius had taken from one of the many Black houses, Sirius had used a few well-placed glamours and clever cover stories to inquire about the Potter family.

No one had even heard of Harry. It was like he disappeared. No, not died, people would have known. Just disappeared. He wasn't with James, Sirius had concluded, unless his former best friend had locked him up in the Potter Manor, which Sirius found hard to believe.

According to public knowledge, the Potters generally kept to themselves to avoid the few Death Eaters ready to retaliate. Thankfully, the Potters hadn't been attacked (as far as the public knew) for some time, but they still played it safe.

But still, not even a whisper of Harry.

So Sirius searched. He visited everywhere he could think of under different disguises, but still couldn't find Harry. Now he was here, looking for Lily's sister, Petunia Dursley nee Evans, who now lived on 4 Privet Drive, if Sirius memory served. He dearly hoped he was wrong about this, but he was running out of places to look. James couldn't have been stupid enough to leave Harry with Petunia of all people? This was answered soon enough.

Sirius heard her before he saw her.

"FREAK!" Petunia Dursley screeched.

The sound, for some reason, sent a jolt of urgency through Sirius's dog-heart, and he ran the rest of the way down the street. Loping up to the house (and trampling on Petunia's flowers), Sirius put two paws up on the sill of an open window, which let in the cool autumn breeze.

"I d-don't know h-how it did it, Aunt Petunia…" an achingly familiar black-haired boy was saying, staring fearfully up a disturbingly familiar horse-faced woman.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Petunia raged.

She kept screaming, but Sirius wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. Instead he watched the little boy cowering at her feet. Here he was. Harry. At last. He was so _small_. He seemed to hardly have grown in the past six years. His big green eyes though, looked so _old_, not nearly as joyful as Lily's had been. But his messy black hair was all James. His face looking a lot like James too, so much Sirius could almost swear he was looking back in time.

Except that James had never been treated like this. He had had a wonderful childhood with loving parents. He never looked so _scared_.

And Sirius was suddenly quite angry. Dropping down from the window, Sirius stepped back a few paces (trampling Petunia's flowers) and tensed. With a huge heave, Sirius sprang through the open window and crashed into the living room.

Petunia screamed, "VERNON!"

Sirius stumbled a little bit, trying to regain his renegade equilibrium. That wasn't exactly his most graceful leap.

"OUT, YOU MUTT, OUT!" voices screamed.

Re-orienting himself, Sirius had just enough time to dodge a flying vase. Sirius snarled as Petunia screamed again, and leaped forward, straight at the Dursleys.

Vernon had appeared, and now both he and his wife scrambled back as Sirius advanced.

Sirius just wanted to get himself between those infernal relatives of Lily's and Harry.

Petunia screeched _again_.

That was annoying. Ah well, better milk it for all its worth, Sirius decided. He transformed. Going from mangy grim-like dog to wretched-looking escaped convict was apparently too much for Petunia. She fainted. _Without_ screaming, Sirius was quite satisfied to note.

Vernon looked like he couldn't believe his eyes. "Y-y-you, y-y-you f-f-freak."

"Piss off, Dursley," Sirius ordered. "I'd like a word with my godson."

Trembling, Vernon grabbed Petunia and exited quickly.

"Ah, good," Sirius said. Then he turned around to look at Harry.

Harry looked up at him with wide, astonished green eyes. Not fearful anymore, just shocked.

Crouching down to Harry's height, Sirius grinned (hoping he didn't look deranged) and held out his hand. "Hello there, Harry, I'm Sirius Black, your godfather."

Harry's eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head, but he seriously took Sirius hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"None of this 'sir' stuff," Sirius admonished. "You just call me Sirius, Harry."

"Okay," Harry agreed, gracing Sirius with a small smile.

"Well what do you know?" Sirius exclaimed, staring at that smile. "That smile of yours is all Lily!"

Harry's eyes got impossibly wider. "Like… like my mum?"

"Of course, hasn't anyone ever told you that?" Sirius asked.

Shyly Harry shook his head.

Sirius huffed. He had a bone to pick with Petunia over this. "Well, you do," Sirius declared. "And you're the spitting image of your father, I tell you. Except for your mother's eyes, of course."

"Really?" Harry breathed.

"Really," Sirius echoed, grinning at his godson. _How could Harry not know any of this though?_ Sirius wondered, smile slipping. "Harry…" Sirius began slowly. "I came here to check up on you, make sure you're alright."

"Oh," Harry said uncertainly, gaze dropping to the floor.

"Harry," Sirius prodded. "Hasn't anyone come to check up on you before?"

"No," Harry breathed. "Were the s'posed to?"

Sirius scowled. "Yes, Harry, they should have. Your dad should have, at least."

Harry looked up sharply. "My dad's alive?"

It took a moment for that to sink in. Then Sirius jaw dropped. "You thought he was dead?"

Harry nodded. "That's what Aunt Petunia said."

"What?!" Sirius said, aghast. How could Petunia let him believe that?

"She said both my parents were dead," Harry explained. "She said I didn't have any family."

"She didn't even tell you about your brother?" Sirius asked, though he already knew the answer. Merlin, how could this have happened?

Now Harry's jaw dropped. "I have a brother too?!"

"Harry, tell me what you know about your family and why you're here," Sirius commanded grimly.

"Um, well, Aunt Petunia said my parents died in a car crash," Harry said hesitantly. "And that they took me in when I was one. And… they said I'm a freak just like them. That's all."

_Don't explode, don't explode, you'll scare Harry, don't explode,_ Sirius chanted inwardly. "Harry none of that's true at all. Your mother was… she was killed by an evil man. Your dad and your twin are hiding from him, since the evil man was trying to kill your brother. And they were wizards, Harry, just like you are I'm sure, not freaks. Although they did take you in when you were one."

Harry was silent for a moment, digesting that information. "But then," Harry began slowly. "If my dad's alive, why am I here?"

"I don't know," Sirius said honestly. "I'm guessing for your protection, but I really don't know, pup."

"And… where were you?" Harry asked.

"Er… well… I was in prison," Sirius admitted uncertainly. Was that the right thing to say to a seven year-old boy? He didn't really want to lie to Harry though…

Harry arched an eyebrow in a frankly quite scary impression of Lily. "Why?"

"Er, I was framed for murder and Dark magic," Sirius said.

"But you didn't actually do it?" Harry pressed.

"No," Sirius said. Would Harry believe him? Just like that?

"Okay," was all Harry said.

"Okay?" Sirius echoed. "You believe me?"

Harry looked up at him with big eyes. "You're the firs' person not to lie to me, Sir'us," he said seriously.

Sirius heart constricted. "Do you want to come with me, Harry?"

"Leave the Dursley's?" Harry asked, grinning in excitement. "Forever?"

"If you want," Sirius said, matching Harry's grin. What was he thinking?

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed.

"I haven't cleared my name," Sirius warned him. "It might be dangerous."

But that grin wasn't coming of Harry's face. "I don't care," he said. "I just wanna leave. I like you loads better than the Dursleys."

Sirius heart constricted again. Harry liked the first person to be kind to him more than the relatives he was living with. It was heart-wrenchingly familiar to Sirius own childhood. He definitely couldn't let Harry stay here. "Well," Sirius said lightly. "I am pretty likeable."

Harry giggled, pure joy shining on his face.

"Do you want to get anything?" Sirius asked. "Before we leave, I mean."

Harry paused a moment, glancing toward the stairwell, before shaking his head. "No, nothing."

_Don't think about it_, Sirius told himself. "Alright then," Sirius said, standing. "I'll just tell your aunt and uncle that we'll be leaving, and we'll be on our way."

Hearing a light shuffling on the other side of the door Dursley had disappeared into, Sirius grinned and held a finger up to his lips. Harry nodded, eyes wide, and shut his mouth. Very careful, Sirius reached for the door handle and twisted it gently. Then he jerked it open, stuck his head in, and shouted, "DURSLEY!"

Dursley screamed and fell backward like a huge potato.

"Oh, there you are," Sirius said sweetly. "Harry and I will be going, Dursley. Don't come looking for us. Don't tell anyone we've gone. If someone eventually comes looking for him just tell them that Sirius Black has him."

Dursley nodded, vigorously from the floor.

"Good, we won't be seeing you," Sirius said cheerfully. He ducked out of the room and turned back to Harry.

James and Lily's son was grinning like mad, looking absurdly pleased. Sirius grinned back and scooped Harry up into his arms.

"Bye, Uncle Vernon!" Harry called, waving cheerily from Sirius's arms.

"You cheeky little bugger, I like you," Sirius said chuckling.

Harry giggled again (Merlin, he was adorable), and Sirius strode out of 4 Privet Drive.

_What in Merlin's name am I doing?! _Sirius inwardly chided himself. _I'm kidnapping my best friend's son!_

_It's not like James was watching over him,_ Sirius argued. _Besides, Harry wanted to come._

_This is still a bad idea!_ Sirius told himself. Then he grimaced. Great. Now he was arguing with himself. Azkaban had really made him a nutter.

"Sir'us," Harry said. "Where are we going?"

Sirius realized they were just standing on the sidewalk while he argued with himself. "Ah, I think we'll be going to Grimmauld Place. That's where I grew up. Do you know what apparating is?"

Harry shook his head.

"Of course you don't," Sirius said, inwardly scolding himself. "Well, just hold on tight, Harry, it's a bit uncomfortable."

Harry dutifully wrapped his little arms tightly around Sirius' neck.

_What am I doing?_ Sirius wondered again as they apparated to Grimmauld Place.

This was a singularly stupid idea.

* * *

**Author's note:** **Yes, I know the Sirius-raises-Harry thing had been done before, but I'm hoping to change things up a bit by throwing in a little Wrong Boy Who Lived, and some Sev and Draco, and a little multicrossover flair.**

**REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT:** so, I've gotten a bunch of people saying it doesn't make sense that James doesn't know Sirius is innocent. Believe me, **I know.**I didn't ignore that part at all. I just didn't want to start this story in 1981. **It'll be explained later.** If you want to take issue with my explanation, go ahead, but please wait until then to point out the 'major plot-hole.' I got it, guys, don't worry. Thanks :)

**Quick multi-crossover explanation:** I will be taking characters from other books/movies/shows for the purpose of side-characters, and a few more important ones, but this is very much a Harry Potter story; Harry Potter's world, Harry Potter's main characters, Harry Potter's plot-line/story-line (slightly AU-ed). Secondly, I will be taking any extra characters out of context, at least partially, so they might be a little OOC since your context (environment) does contribute to your personality. But not to worry, **you don't need to know anything about the fandom they are from to enjoy the story. **I am completely integrating them into the Harry Potter world, so no need to worry. Lastly, those characters will be there to accommodate the story, not for the story to accommodate them, so please don't get too riled up if they're OOC, or not in the right house or whatever else, especially as I'll probably be using them to fill up Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw since we don't know as many of those students. And some may be mentioned purely for amusement. So. Yeah.

**Also, feel free to Brit-pick anything in here. I am an American (in case you didn't get that from the pen name) so I don't know all the terms, though I've picked up a bit from reading fanficiton :D**

**I hope you all enjoyed! Sev and Draco are in the next chapter.**


	2. Godsons, Godfathers, and Best Friends

**Chapter 2 **

**Godsons and Godfathers and Best Friends**

Severus knew this was a stupid idea. Lucius would be wondering where his son was. But, _Merlin_, it was so hard to say no.

"Please, Uncle Sev," Draco begged, big gray eyes shining with unshed tears. "Let me stay. I won't be trouble."

"Draco," Severus said severely. "Your father will be wondering where you are."

"I know," Draco whispered, staring at his shoes. "But I don't want to go home."

Severus sighed. Really, he should just pick Draco up, take him back to Malfoy Manor, and scold him for flooing here without telling his parents in the first place. But instead he asked, "And why is that?"

"Father… was angry," Draco said, eyes glued to the ground.

"And?" Severus prodded gently.

"He… he hurt me," Draco whispered so quietly Severus almost couldn't hear him.

But he did. And this wasn't the first time he had heard those words from Draco. Severus sighed. This was turning into a trend—a horrible one that Severus had no control over. "Of course you can stay, Draco," Severus said.

Draco practically collapsed with relief and reached out to give Severus a loose hug.

Severus held Draco close and wished he could save Draco from this childhood, so similar to his own. Not quite as bad, but still not right or healthy in any sense of either word.

"What was it this time Draco?" Severus asked.

"He said I was being disrespectful," Draco said, his small voice muffled by Severus's robes. "But I... I just asked why muggleborns were bad."

"What made you ask that, Draco?" Severus asked, frowning.

Draco pulled back so he could look up at his godfather and explained, "Well, I 'membered you telling me your best friend when you were my age was a muggleborn, and I read a book in the library saying what they were. They didn't seem bad at all, so I asked. Father got really mad at me. He said muggleborns were filthy and horrid."

Severus sighed again, feeling partially responsible for that question. He shouldn't have mentioned Lily, but with Julian Potter's birthday in the papers once more, her name had just slipped out.

"Why are muggleborns bad, Uncle Sev?" Draco asked in a tentative voice.

Severus was torn between pride that Draco trusted him enough to ask him something like this, and sadness that he had to—he should be able to ask his own father without being punished for it. "They aren't really, Draco," Severus said. "But some people, including your father, are afraid that if wizards keep marrying muggles, eventually there will be no more wizards left." That was an extreme over-simplification, but Draco didn't need to know all the details yet; he was only seven after all.

Draco's eyes widened. "Will that really happen?"

"I don't believe so, Draco," Severus said. "But there are many who do, and since one of them is your father you have to be very careful not to mention it until you can deal with those people effectively. Do you understand, Draco?"

Draco nodded solemnly, his face grave.

Severus frowned. Little boys weren't supposed to be so solemn, little boys were supposed to smile and play. Making people smile, unfortunately, was not Severus's forte. And Draco didn't have a friend like Lily to pick him up after an 'incident' with his father. All Draco had was a greasy old godfather. Severus frowned. Where could wizarding children make friends before Hogwarts?

Well, nowhere. Muggleborns were friends with muggles until they were eleven and half-bloods and purebloods met the children of their magical parent(s)' friends, who were from Hogwarts. Severus sighed again. Diagon Alley it was.

"How about a trip, Draco?" Severus suggested. "I have a few things I need from Diagon Alley."

Draco grinned. _There we go,_ Severus thought with satisfaction. _A smile. Now I just have to keep it there._

Severus left a note on the living room table just in case Lucius or Narcissa came looking for their son, explaining that Draco had said his parents were both busy and his trip to Diagon Alley just could not be put off. Lies, of course, but Severus didn't become a Syltherin by being honest.

.o.0.O.0.o.

After dropping by Grimmauld Place, Sirius abruptly decided it was too musty and dark (in both sense of the word) for a child. He dug around and found an old set of Regulus's robes for Harry to wear in place of his oversized hand-me downs. Just for the fun of it, and to show Harry that he was cutting _all_ ties to the dreadful Dursleys, Sirius had started a fire in the fireplace (which was unconnected to the floo network) and they had burned Dudley's old clothes.

Harry grinned the whole time.

Sirius then applied glamours to both himself and Harry. They rehearsed a cover story, which was as close to the truth as Sirius could get it. So mostly it comprised of changing Harry's name to Evan Harrison, an only child who was staying with his godfather Bryan White because his aunt and uncle were gits and his father was too busy to watch him. His mother died when he was a baby.

Satisfied that Harry had all the name changes down, Sirius promptly whisked him off to Diagon Alley. They got a room at the Three Broomsticks and spent the next few days wandering around Diagon Alley. Petunia had clearly told Harry _nothing_ of the wizarding world. Harry hadn't even known what his accidental magic was. So Sirius explained _everything_, quite literally. Harry was a non-stop chatterbox, spewing question after question on every little thing they passed.

"Sirius, what's Oldvanders?"

"Ollivander's, _Evan_, don't forget the names, and it's a wand shop."

"What's a wand?"

"A stick wizards use to do magic."

"Why do they need a stick to do magic?"

"Er… to focus their magic, I think."

"What's Flersh and Botts?"

"Flourish and Botts is a book store."

"Why's it called that?"

"Because… actually, I have no idea."

"Why do wizards wear robes?"

"Well, I guess it's just the fashion."

"Why's it the fashion?"

"Some wizards like to look dramatic. Everyone else gave in to peer pressure."

"What's peer pressure?"

"It's when you do what everyone else is doing to fit in."

"Oh. Why's that lady winking at you?"

"Because she likes me."

"Do you know her?"

"Not yet."

"Then how can she like you?"

"She thinks I'm handsome."

"Why?"

"Harry!"

"Don't forget the code names, _Bryan_!"

By the sixth day the torrent of Harry's questions had slowed to a trickle. Sirius discovered that he had already become a bad influence on Harry. Surely children weren't naturally this sassy? Sirius snorted. Who he was he kidding? This was _James and Lily's_ child. Of course he was naturally sassy.

He did take full responsibility for Harry's interest in Quidditch though. Sirius was unable to get Harry on a broom since Grimmauld Place didn't have a backyard, and Diagon Alley wasn't exactly a superb environment for learning to fly, but he did get him all the books and explain the game over and over. They listened to games on the Wizarding Wireless Network and admired the Nimbus brooms in the window.

In fact, they had just been stepping into the Quidditch supplies store (again) when they bumped into a (unbeknownst to them) life changing pair of people. Well Harry did the actually bumping. Since the seven year-old was chattering aimlessly at Sirius, he hadn't noticed the people come out the door and bumped right into a little blonde boy who was slightly taller than him.

Harry immediately went bright red, and the other boy soon copied. "Oh, sorry… I wasn't looking…"

Both boys stared shyly at their shoes, both extremely embarrassed.

Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. Well, he mused, there was one way to shut Harry up (not that he wanted Harry to ever stop talking). Then the man with the cute little blonde boy opened his mouth and the smile dropped off Sirius's face.

"Don't be rude, Draco, say hello," the oh-so-unfortunately-familiar voice said.

Sirius cursed his luck. Of all the people to run into, why Severus Snape!?

"Hello," Draco said quietly. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

A Malfoy? Sirius thought. As in that git Lucius Malfoy's son?

"I'm H – ahem – Evan," Harry said, quickly recovering from his mistake. "I'm sorry I bumped into you."

"It's okay," Draco forgave easily, fingers playing with the edge of his robes. He didn't really remind Sirius of Lucius in any way except his hair. Sirius guessed he took after Narcissa.

The two of them were awkwardly quiet for a moment before Harry burst out, "Do you like Quidditch?"

Snape snorted, and Sirius reflexively sent him a glare (which was ignored), but Draco visibly brightened. "Yeah," he answered Harry with a grin.

"Have you ever been on a broom?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded. "Have you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I want to."

"Oh well," Draco drew himself up and boasted, "My father got me a broom for my last birthday."

Sirius was immediately put off by Draco's superior attitude, now reminded too much of Lucius, but Harry didn't seem to notice.

"Wow, you're lucky," Harry said. "I've been learning about all the teams though."

"Really? What's your favorite?" Draco asked.

"Puddlemore United," Harry answered.

"Oh, I like the Tornadoes," Draco said. "But as long as we can agree the Chudley Cannons or garbage, we'll be fine."

"I haven't looked at them much," Harry admitted.

"I... I can show you, if you want," Draco glanced uncertainly at Snape.

Snape frowned, looking like he might refuse, but then Harry turned his huge green eyes on him (Sirius hadn't covered them with the glamour) and Snape was a goner.

"Oh, alright," Snape relented.

Draco grinned and grabbed Harry's hand, turning around and dragging him inside.

Snape met Sirius eyes, unaware he was looking at one of his childhood rivals, and introduced himself, "Severus Snape."

"Bryan White," Sirius returned, glad Snape hadn't shaken his hand. Glamour or not, it would have been too weird.

"Your child?" Snape asked, stepping inside the shop.

Sirius followed him and replied, "No, he's my godson. I'm just taking care of him. And Draco?"

"My godson, as well," Snape answered shortly.

Sirius was a bit surprised, but it was the most obvious explanation. Sirius's eyes were drawn to Harry and Draco as the latter pulled a book of the shelf and tugged Harry over to the bench.

They descended into an awkward silence, watching their respective godsons stick their noses in a Quidditch book. Draco explained, with an air of superiority, exactly why the Chudley Canons were a horrid team. Sirius couldn't help but smirk at the sight. _Well, would you look at that,_ he thought, _a Malfoy acting civilly toward a Potter, and a half-blood at that._

"They seem to get on remarkably well," Sirius mused aloud, beating down his smirk and smoothing over his expression.

Snape watched the two boys with an unreadable expression. "Indeed," he muttered drolly.

Sirius tuned back into the boy's conversation when he heard Harry's familiar questioning tone ask, "What's St. Mungo's?"

Sirius almost answered him instinctively from across the room, but Draco beat him to it, explaining in that know-it-all tone of his that St. Mungo's was a magical hospital.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry and commented, "Your godson is quite… ignorant."

Sirius pushed back the flare of anger at that statement and defended his godson as civilly as possible. "He can't help it. His father left him to live with his muggle relatives."

Snape arched an eyebrow. "Did he?"

Gritting his teeth at the memory of Harry's treatment by the Dursley's, Sirius nodded and said tersely, "He did. And horrible muggle relatives at that." Sirius clenched his fists and couldn't help but add bitterly, "He got in trouble just for saying the word magic"

Snape's expression was unreadable, but Sirius thought there might have been a spark of sympathy in his eyes. It was gone so quickly though, that Sirius thought he must have imagined it. Still, he was a bit embarrassed to have vented, however shortly, his frustrations to _Snape_ of all people.

"I apologize," Sirius said awkwardly.

"Not at all," Snape said dismissively, staring at Harry with a strange look in his eye.

Sirius stared at Snape, confused. What was the greasy git thinking?

"And what do you plan to do?" Snape asked suddenly, looking very interested in Sirius's answer.

Sirius was now quite confused. Why would Snape ask that? Why did he think Sirius _was_ going to do something?

His confusion must have shown on his face, because Snape clarified. "About your godson," he said. "Surely you don't intend to leave him with such hateful muggles?"

"No, I…" Sirius trailed off. Was it safe to tell Snape anything? As far as the other man knew, he had just met some random wizard out with his godson, not his school rival and the Boy-Who-Lived. Sirius _probably_ wouldn't get in trouble for this… "I'm keeping him," Sirius admitted with a shrug. "If his father wants to be a part of his life, then so be it, but those muggles don't want him. He deserves to grow up loved."

Snape arched that eyebrow again, and Sirius was struck with the random thought that it reminded him of Lily. "So you're essentially kidnapping your godson?"

"It's not like his relatives protested," Sirius said defensively, crossing his arms. "And his father hasn't checked up on him since he left him there. H—ahem, excuse me, _Evan_ didn't even know he was alive."

Both Snape's eyebrows rose that time, surprised at that development.

"Why do you want to know?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Curiosity," Snape said, shirking around the question.

Sirius scowled. "Come on, I've told you I kidnapped my godson, it's not like I'll go telling on you."

Snape glared at him for a moment, before turning his eyes back to Harry and Draco and relenting. "Draco is in a… somewhat similar situation."

"Oh?" Sirius prodded.

"Yes…" Snape stalled.

Sirius glanced over at Draco. No way children were naturally that snooty, Draco had to have picked that up from his father. Not Narcissa, she was bearable to be around. Sirius considered the ash blonde boy and guessed, "Daddy problems?"

Snape glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Many," he admitted carefully.

"Well, go on then," Sirius pushed, slapping his hand in a 'continue' motion. "I won't tell."

"Too many expectations," Snape said shortly. "Cruel forms of punishment, and pureblood prejudices."

"And you can't do anything about it?" Sirius asked, frowning. A child shouldn't really have to go through that. Even a Malfoy. It really was a damaging experience to be influenced by such people and raised that way. Unwillingly Sirius mind shot back to his little brother. Regulus was so similar. And Sirius didn't even know what had happened to him. He had seemingly just disappeared. Sirius hadn't thought about him in a long time, but Snape's short explanation of Draco's home life dredged up a lot of painful memories. Sirius felt his heart go out to the small blonde boy, feeling unexpectedly protective of him.

_No, _Sirius reminded himself. _You have to look out for Harry first before you go abducting any _more_ children._

"No," Snape said in answer to Sirius's question. "His father is a prominent pureblood politicion, not to mention extremely wealthy."

"You could kidnap him," Sirius suggested jokingly.

Snape rolled his eyes and snorted. "Hardly a wise decision."

_Slytherin much?_ Sirius thought. _Find your Gryffindor!_ But he didn't say that out loud. That might lead to questions Sirius didn't want to answer.

"I can only offer my home to him for visiting," Snape said, his tone holding the same bitter quality Sirius's had only a few minutes ago.

Sirius frowned. Things did look bleak for Draco. "Well, you could always bring apprenticeships back into style," he said with a shrug. Really, what _could_ be done for Draco? Besides getting abducted by a wanted criminal, of course.

"Actually not a bad idea," Snape murmured.

Sirius blinked, surprised. "It isn't?"

Snape had The Gleam in his eye. The same one Lily got whenever faced with a challenge, from homework to extracurricular activities to puzzles. The same gleam Remus always got when he found a particularly intricate and difficult spell to try out, and the same gleam James got when he applied it to a prank.

Lost in their own musings, neither man had noticed their two godsons approaching, and they startled when Harry's happy voice piped up. "Hey, _Bryan_?"

Jolting, Sirius jerked his gaze to Harry. "Yes, _Evan_?"

"Draco and I have decided to be friends, is that okay?" Harry asked, his green eyes huge and impossible to refuse—not that Sirius was about to refuse his godson anything.

"Of course it's okay, pup," Sirius told him. "You don't have to ask my permission, you can have as many friends as you want."

"That's okay, I just want one," Harry said sagely. "I've never had a friend before, so I still have to learn how to do it."

Sirius heart nearly split in two, and he could've sworn it actually did when Draco nodded along and said, "Me too."

Sirius glanced at Snape and met his dark eyes in a weird (only because it was _Snape_) moment of understanding. "Well," Sirius said slowly. "That's a grand idea, Evan. Friends are very important."

Harry grinned excitedly up at his godfather. "Yeah, and Draco and I are going to be _Best Friends_ too."

Draco's face broke out into an insanely pleased, broad grin, looking like Harry had just made his day. The sad thing was, he probably had. In fact, Sirius wouldn't really be surprised if this was the highlight of Draco's month.

"If you have one of those, you don't need much else," Sirius told Harry and Draco, smiling but wondering just how the boys planned on working that out with Draco being a pureblood heir and, as far as anyone else knew, Harry being a half-blood nobody. "But they take a lot of work."

Draco looked wide-eyed up at Sirius. "Do they?"

Sirius nodded seriously and explained, "Best friends _always_ have each other's backs, they have to support each other through the hard times, as well as the fun ones. Hardest part, though, is being able to tell each other when you mess up, because best friends don't stand by and let the other make a prat of himself. It takes a long time to become best friend too. You think you can do it?"

Harry and Draco nodded, somehow managing to look grave and thrilled at the same time.

"We can do it," Harry said, nodding.

"Of course we can," Draco said confidently. Then, all at once, his confidence melted and he looked up at Snape. "Right?"

Snape still had The Gleam in his eyes as he looked down at Draco. "Hmm… you just might, Draco."

Hope sparked in Draco's eyes, and Sirius felt it reflected in his own emotions. Maybe this apprenticeship thing would work out?

"We should be returning, Draco," Snape said suddenly, snapping out of his considerations. "We've been gone long enough, and your parents will be missing you."

Draco's shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"You're staying at the Leaky Cauldron, I presume?" Snape said turning to Sirius.

Draco visibly brightened at the inquiry, while Harry grinned and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, we are," Sirius said. "And probably will be for the next week at least."

"Good, I have some things to look into then," Snape said, turning on his heel and sweeping out of the Quiddith store.

Draco gave Harry a small smile and turned to follow, but Harry, of course, was having none of that, and leaped forward to give Draco quick but fierce hug. He pulled back and said, "See you later!"

Draco's smile turned into a grin and he said, "Yeah, see you," before following Snape out of the store and down the street.

Sirius and Harry watched them go for a minute before Harry turned to Sirius and said with the biggest smile Sirius had ever seen on his face, "I have a _friend_, Sirius!"

* * *

**A/N: I'm back :) I meant to get this to you guys sooner, but I had to write and rewrite that conversation between Snape and Sirius to make it more believable. The first time was belgh. I'm not 100% satisfied with this, but it'll do. Enjoy!**

**Answers to the anonymous reviewers:**

**Emily: Thank you, I'm glad :D**

**Zorro1: Thank you, I hope you enojyed this one!**

**Guest: Thank you :)****  
**


	3. Some Schemes Work

**Chapter 3 **

**Some Schemes are Successful, Others... Not So Much**

Before sending Draco home, Severus took the boy aside and explained the subject of apprentices. For three years or more, a master would take on a pupil and teach him in a certain subject, giving an underage student the ability to perform magic outside of school in the presence of the master. But more importantly, it would give Draco an excuse to spend _much_ more time away from home and with his godfather. It wasn't a perfect solution, but one the young heir jumped on.

Severus warned him that his parents, especially his father, wouldn't be immediately open to the idea, but Draco just said he would take care of it. Severus was dubious, and he was going to try to think up his own excuses while Draco implemented his 'plan,' but he gave Draco his full support and sent him home.

While Draco was gone, Severus researched the subject of apprentices extensively, but had difficulties conjuring a reason for the sudden interest in taking Draco as one.

Two weeks later, he was faced with the fruits of Draco's labors, and was forced to renounce his former doubts about Draco's abilities.

"Thank you for coming," Lucius said when Severus stepped out of the floo, sounding much too relieved for this not to be a serious issue.

"Of course," Severus said, briefly dusting powder off his robes. "What is the problem?"

"It's Draco," Lucius said, looking tired. "He's been having… problems."

Severus arched an eyebrow, wondering how Draco could have been so successful. "Problems?" he echoed.

"Come," Lucius said, leading him toward the extravagant living room.

Inside, Draco was curled up in a ball on an armchair, his face tucked into his arms, and Narcissa was pacing across the carpet, looking lost.

"Oh, Severus," Narcissa said, clearly relieved. "You're here."

"What's going on?" Severus asked again, very confused by now. Lucius and Narcissa were acting as if someone was dying.

"Draco's been having a lot of problems with accidental magic," Narcissa explained worriedly. "It started a couple of weeks ago, and just got worse and worse. We don't know why."

"We don't want this to get out," Lucius continued. "This could be a bit… embarrassing. A Malfoy is always in control, and this extended… bout of accidental magic could ruin that image. He needs to learn to control it, but Narcissa and I haven't been able to help him."

"Why don't you just hire a discreet tutor?" Severus asked, still confused.

"We did," Lucius said, sounding frustrated.

"Draco's magic started acting up," Narcissa explained. "The tutor couldn't help. We thought that maybe someone he knows better would help calm his magic."

Severus arched an eyebrow. The coincidental timing was too suspicious for this _not_ to be Draco's plan to make his parents believe apprenticeship was what he needed. "Well then," Severus said, striding over to Draco. As soon as he was within a foot of the child a vase across the room exploded quite dramatically, startling everyone, even Draco.

_He must have an accomplice,_ Severus thought with amusement as Lucius gasped and Narcissa's hand went to her heart with a soft gasp.

"Oh no," Narcissa breathed. "That was a gift from my Aunt Wallburga."

Lucius, surprisingly, didn't look too broken up about the vase.

"I'm sure a simple _reparo_ will fix it," Severus said dismissively, giving Draco a stern look.

The little blonde boy looked up at him with the most mournful eyes Severus had ever seen on him. Wow. He was really giving this his all.

"Please, Uncle Sev," Draco whispered, but loud enough for his parents to hear him clearly. "I can't make it stop."

A quick glance over his shoulder told Severus that Lucius and Narcissa had fallen for their son's act hook, line, and sinker, as the saying went.

"Perhaps… a change of environment," Severus improvised, pulling on his Slytherin skills to make up a story to corroborate with Draco's act. "Let me take him back to my home where things are less valuable and he has only memories of vacations and happy visits. It may help him overcome this strange… explosion. I'll look into it as well. My library is quite extensive."

Narcissa nodded earnestly while Lucius said, "Of course, whatever you need. And our own library is open to you should you need it."

Severus nodded. "Are you up for a move, Draco?"

Draco slowly uncurled from the arm chair, exuding caution from every movement. "I think so," he said quietly, like speaking too loudly could set off another bout of accidental magic.

Severus was quickly becoming more and more impressed with his godson. His acting abilities were admirable. Cautiously, Severus reached for Draco, expecting an adverse reaction.

Just as Severus was about to touch Draco's shoulder, something exploded, right on cue.

Narcissa squeaked, but Lucius was able to keep his composure.

Severus pulled back and settled for motioning Draco toward the fireplace. "Come along, Draco. To Spinner's End. Let's see if we can't fix this problem then, shall we?"

This was going to be interesting.

.o.0.O.0.o.

As soon as they arrived, Draco dropped his act and gave Severus a huge grin. "I did it!"

"Indeed you did," Severus said with amusement. "Want to tell me how?"

"Oh, that was easy," Draco said superiorly. "I started little. With a few things happening that made Mother and Father very pleased. But then I just went bigger and bigger until they got really worried and called that tutor bloke. And I made sure he couldn't help me at all. And then I made it happen more often, until they called you!"

"Yes, yes," Severus said with a little bit of impatience. "But _how_ did you manage these acts of accidental magic, Draco. You don't have a wand yet, and I doubt your parents would have been oblivious to their own missing."

"Dobby," Draco said proudly.

"Dobby?" Severus echoed, trying to remember who that was, it sounded like a –

"House elf," Draco explained. "He promised he wouldn't tell, and he's very sneaky. We made a plan for how much and how many times, and then he did it."

Severus nodded in approval. "Very clever."

Draco grinned widely again.

"I think we'll give it about a week, maybe a day or two more before we call your parents with the option of apprenticeship," Severus told his godson. "So you'll be able to get your wand early and start learning now. Not only will it be advantageous to your education, but you will be able to spend plenty of your time here."

"Yay!" Draco exclaimed. "Can we go see Evan now? I don't think best friends are supposed to be apart this long."

"Oh, hush, Draco," Severus scolded. "It's only been a few days."

"It feels like forever!" Draco exclaimed.

Severus snorted. To Diagon Alley it was.

.o.0.O.0.o.

Sometimes, Sirius felt like he had the worst luck in the world. Other times, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

When he opened the door to his room at the Leaky Cauldron and saw Severus Snape, he was so glad it was one of those lucky times. He and Harry had been preparing to head out for another day of wandering Diagon Alley and so were fully glamoured. Of course, Sirius wouldn't have opened the door if they weren't, but it was nice not to have to come up with an excuse for the wait.

"Ah, Snape," Sirius greeted, trying to sound happy. Based on Snape's raised brows, it probably sounded a bit forced, but Sirius continued to force it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"White," Snape returned the short greeting. Sirius tried not to laugh at the irony of his fake last name. Maybe he should have picked something plainer… like Smith or something.

"Hi, Mr. White!" a much younger and actually honestly happy voice piped up.

Sirius looked down and smiled at Draco, who grinned up at him and asked, "Is Evan here?"

"Of course he is," Sirius answered, swinging open the door and calling, "Evan! Draco's here!"

"REALLY!?" was Harry's reply, followed by a heavy thump and then the pounding of feet.

Snape snorted and rolled his eyes as Harry appeared and ran straight for Draco. "We came," he drawled, "to invite the two of you to come and spend the day at my home."

"How nice," Sirius said, immediately against the idea of a play-date at Snape's house.

"Can we please, Bryan?" Harry begged, seamlessly switching into what he had dubbed Code Mode.

"Of course we can," Sirius replied, more as a knee-jerk reaction than anything else. Sirius frowned. That was worrying. Maybe he should be saying 'no' every once and a while.

"Yes!" Draco exclaimed, grinning widely. "Let's go now!" He grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him between the two adults and out the door, leaving the two adults to stand in the doorway.

"Er, shall we?" Sirius said a bit awkwardly, motioning after the boys.

Snape rolled his eyes and swept out of the room. Muster up all his tolerance for snooty behavior, Sirius followed.

The short journey consisted mostly of Harry and Draco chattering non-stop about anything, everything, and Quidditch while Sirius and Snape followed silently behind. Once they were through the floo and into Snape's house, however, the chatter abruptly stopped.

"Uncle Sev," Draco said gravely.

Sirius bit his tongue _really_ hard to keep from laughing at the endearment. Snape didn't notice.

"Yes, Draco?" Snape prodded.

Draco paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, and then proclaimed, "We need a broom."

Harry's eyes went impossibly wide, and he ratcheted the adorable puppy-begging factor up several notches.

Snape huffed but, to Sirius' astonishment, had to suppress a smile at the two boys. "You know where they are, Draco."

The two boys were gone in a split second.

"They'll need supervision," Snape began.

"Say no more," Sirius said, not bothering to hide his own excitement. "I'm your man."

Snape rolled his eyes and muttered something about Quidditch fanatics, but it was lost on Sirius, who was already following the sounds of excited laughter.

Not ten minutes later the four of them were outside, armed with two brooms. Just as Sirius expected, Harry took to flying like a bird. Before long Draco and Harry were zooming around the yard (but no higher than six feet, thank Merlin).

Sirius watched him proudly, remembering how much he and James had loved to fly and how naturally _good_ James had been. He turned and saw Snape eyeing him with a gleam in his eye. He arched a questioning eyebrow.

Snape shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever quite understand you Quidditch types."

Sirius grinned. "Quidditch is _life_, Snape."

Snape snorted. "Right," he said sarcastically.

Sirius continued to grin as he turned back to watching Harry and Draco, occasionally calling out tips and corrections for both the boys.

After Sirius and harry spent the entire afternoon at Spinner's End, they were invited to return the next day, and the day after, and the day after, etc. Draco insisted on having "Evan" over as much as possible, and all Harry had to do was turn on the puppy-dog eyes and neither Snape nor Sirius could deny them.

Sirius and Snape hardly ever talked beyond some stilted conversation here and there, which was fine by Sirius. Most of the time, Snape would retreat indoors, saying he had to work, and leave the boys under Sirius supervision. Other times he would bring Draco in (which meant Harry came too) for a few lessons, which were part of their cover for the apprenticeship story that allowed Draco to spend so much time at Spinner's End. With frankly disturbing ease, Harry quickly convinced Snape and Sirius to work out a similar allowance for him so that he could get a wand and learn alongside Draco.

So, during one of the days Draco spent back home (supplementing his story for the 'need for further apprenticeship, of course), Sirius and Harry headed over to Olivanders. The old wand maker had a knowing look in his eye that Sirius resolutely ignored while Harry remained oblivious.

Sirius didn't know what to think about Harry's wand being a 'brother' to Voldemort's wand, but decided to compartmentalize that information aware for use when it became relevant—hopefully never. Harry didn't seem to care at all, beyond being momentarily curious, and was overjoyed to join Draco in learning a bit of magic early.

During the last week of summer, Harry and Draco even managed to convince Snape to let "Bryan and Evan" stay the night. Snape's agreement sent both boys on a victory lap around the yard, which Sirius openly laughed at while Snape suppressed his smile.

Sirius wasn't laughing the next day when Snape took the three of them down to a small creak because Harry and Draco wanted a picnic. After they had eaten, the boys wandered off a little, promising not to go out of sight, and Snape started talking.

"I used to come here often," Snape said suddenly, surprising Sirius.

"Uh, you did?" Sirius said uncertainly, unsure how to handle a reminiscing and nostalgic Snape. They were civil, mostly for Harry and Draco's sake, but it was still weird.

"Yes, with a dear childhood friend of mine," Snape continued, looking expectantly at Sirius.

"Uh, that's nice," Sirius said, wondering who could possibly have wanted to be Snape's 'dear childhood friend.' _Lily did_, his mind reminded him. Alarm bells started to go off in his head and Sirius sat up a little straighter. "What happened to her?"

"I never said she was a girl," Snape said sharply.

Sirius held up his hands and tried to respond calmly. "Or him, I was just guessing."

Snape stared another second before going on. "She was killed."

Sirius was almost 100% sure they were talking about Lily now, but he wasn't entirely sure why. "I'm sorry," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

"Are you really?" Snape challenged, standing up.

Sirius got to his feet too, stomach twisting.

"Give me one good reason, _Black_," Snape sneered. "Not to call the Aurors right now."

* * *

**A/N: heheheh, look, guys. I'm alive. Nor do I have Alzheimers. Sorry for the wait but *shrug* it's life. What can you do?**

**I think I responded to everyone who had an account (and thank you again!) but to the anonymous reviewers:**

**adenoide: Well, he and his father will have many problems, but Evan/Harry won't be one for awhile. Don't worry though, they'll fight plenty about other stuff.**

**Amy: well, here you go.**

**Jasmine M: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it :D**


	4. Jack the Butterfly

_Last time~_

_"Are you really?" Snape challenged, standing up._

_Sirius got to his feet too, stomach twisting._

_"Give me one good reason, _Black_," Snape sneered. "Not to call the Aurors right now."_

**Chapter 4**

**Jack the Butterfly, and Other Important Happenings**

"What?" was Sirius' eloquent reply.

Snape sneered. "Sharp as ever, aren't you, _Black_?" he scoffed. "I'll admit you had effective glamours, but you still foolishly gave yourself away. Gryffindors do tend to lack subtly and tact."

"Hey!" Sirius said, suitably affronted on his house's behalf.

Snape snorted. "And what about _Evan Harrison?_" he continued. "How very _original_, Mr. _White._"

Sirius cringed. "Okay, but I was trying to pick something he'd remember, and I thought mine was ironic. And in my defense, anyone else wouldn't have made the connection."

"And yet, here you are," Snape said smugly.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't exactly change our fake names mid-conversation," Sirius grumbled. "And _you_ trying saying no to him when he wants to play with the only friend he's ever had his age."

"And then, it seemed, you were doomed," Snape said, smirking triumphantly. "They might even give you the Dementor's Kiss for this. Kidnapping the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived, Potter might even have your head for this."

Sirius thought Snape sounded far too happy about that. "I meant what I said when we bumped into each other at Diagon Alley," Sirius growled. "Harry was living with _Petunia."_

Snape made a vaguely disgusted face.

"And she married a rotten man named Dursley and had a bloated kid named Dudley and they all got together and treated Harry like dirt," Sirius growled. "He lived in a cupboard under the stairs and spent all his time essentially working like a house elf."

"Why would you care, _Black_," Snape scoffed. "Didn't you b—"

"UNCLE SEV!" Draco's cry cut through the thick curtain of tension, and he and Harry came hurtling over to them.

Both men glared at each other for a moment before turning to the two boys.

"What is it Draco?"

Draco glanced at Harry who gave him and encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, Draco lifted his enclosed hands up to the adults and slowly opened them. "This is Jack," Draco said solemnly, referring to the black and orange butterfly with a torn wing that was twitching in his hands. "His wing's broken, Uncle Sev."

"Can you fix it?" Harry asked, hope shining in his big green eyes. "He might _die_ if he can't fly."

Sirius had a hard time withholding a chuckle, despite the seriousness of his and Harry's situation. One moment Snape was ready to turn him in, the next it was literally butterflies. Snape himself almost looked as if he'd been Confunded by the abrupt turn of events.

"How do you know it's a boy?" Sirius asked while Snape continued to gape.

"He looks like a boy," Harry said confidently.

"Of course he does," Sirius said, looking at the butterfly. It looked like any other butterfly Sirius had ever seen and, to be perfectly honest, he hadn't the slightest clue how to tell if it was male or female.

"Draco," Snape said smoothly, regaining his composure. "Do you suppose best friends lie to one another?"

Sirius stomach dropped again, and he glared at Snape. Was he really going to ruin two children's friendship just like that? He almost intervened when Draco answered.

"Oh no, Uncle Sev," Draco said, shaking his head. "Not at all. Evan and I talked about it. We decided best friend don't ever lie or keep secrets from each other unless it's to protect them."

That… was actually quite impressive, Sirius decided. He didn't know when they'd talked about it, but they had obviously put some thought into it, more than you would expect from a pair of seven year-olds.

Snape ignored the last little clause and went on, "Then you are aware, Draco, that _Evan's _name isn't actually 'Evan'?"

"Of course," Draco sniffed, as if it were preposterous he _wouldn't_ know.

Sirius jaw dropped and he stared at Harry, who only shrugged unabashedly.

"Best friends also keep each other's secrets," Draco said importantly. "I wasn't going to tell anyone, Mr. Black, that didn't already know. Harry made me promise."

Sirius glanced over at Snape who seemed equally floored.

"But…" Snape trailed off a moment before pulling himself together. "You _do_ know that Sirius Black" – here he jabbed a finger at Sirius – "is a mass murderer who _betrayed his best friend_ got his best friend's wife killed, right?"

"Harry says Sirius didn't do it," Draco said, like that settled everything.

Snape turned a hard eye on Harry. "And how do _you_ know that?"

"Sirius said he didn't do it," Harry answered.

Snape looked ready to burst an artery or something. "And why," he said through gritted teeth, "would you believe a criminal?"

"Well, he's not a criminal," Harry said factually. "And he doesn't lie."

"Except to people about his name and yours?" he challenged the seven year-old.

Said seven year-old rolled his eyes and replied somewhat impatiently, "That's just _code_ so people who think Sirius _is_ a liar don't arrest us and send me back to the Dursleys'. Can we _please_ get back to Jack now? He's really hurt."

"Can you give him a healing potion or something?" Draco asked.

"Or is there a spell we can use?" Harry added.

"Does regular stuff work on butterflies?" Draco asked.

"Will you need to make something special?" said Harry. "How long will it take?"

"Jack _needs_ to be able to fly," Draco said.

"Yeah, he could _die_ if he can't," Harry added seriously.

"I know I'd die if I could never fly again," Draco proclaimed dramatically.

"Maybe if we gave him something to eat or drink he'd be okay for awhile," Harry suggested. "Until his wing is all healed."

"Yeah, what do butterflies eat?" Draco wondered.

"Um, flowers?" Harry tried.

"Not flowers, just the insides," Draco said.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Uh, you know, usually kids ask before they keep the pet."

"Of course we're keeping him!" Draco exclaimed.

"And he's not a pet," Harry corrected. "Jack is an independent butterfly who can think for himself."

Sirius held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay."

"Come on, Harry," Draco said, turning away. "Let's see if he'll drink some water."

And with that, the two boys started running for the house, Draco very careful about the butterfly in his hands.

Sirius and Snape looked at each other somewhat awkwardly. Their dramatic angry moment had sort of been ruined by Jack the butterfly and the two boys who believed that Jack the butterfly was far more important than any crime Sirius had or hadn't committed, Voldemort, and Snape's threats combined.

"So, er, I can tell you what really happened."

"Under veritaserum."

"Fine."

"We should probably clean up the picnic."

And so went the weirdest, most awkward afternoon Sirius had ever had. He and Snape gathered up the leftover lunch, checkered blanket, and basket and made their way back to Spinner's End—again in awkward silence. Not even angry silence, all thanks to Draco and Harry the best friends and Jack the not-pet, just… awkward. Sirius really didn't have another adjective for it, so 'awkward' kept knocking around in his brain the whole time.

When they got back to the house, the first thing they did was tend to Jack the butterfly. Draco and Harry set out a little water for Jack, watching in fascination as the insect slurped it up through its straw. The fascination lasted for about a minute before Draco looked up and said, "So, what potions does he need?"

Snape scowled. "I don't think SkeleGrow is going to repair a butterfly wing."

"Can you look in your books for something?" Harry suggested. "You do have a lot of them."

Rolling his eyes, Snape snapped, "I hardly think anyone cared enough about butterflies, insects which live less than a year, to create a potion that could heal them."

Both boys gave him such wounded, heartfelt looks that even Snape had the decency to look a little bit ashamed.

"We should get some books on butterflies too," Harry said.

Sirius grimaced. "What do you need books for?"

"Do _you_ know anything about butterflies?" Harry asked, sounding entirely too much like Draco for Sirius to be comfortable.

"Well… no," Sirius admitted.

"Is there a library around here somewhere?" Harry asked, directing his question at Snape.

Snape sighed.

So it was that they ended up taking a trip to the nearby muggle library, checking out three books on butterflies, eventually floo-calling Pomfrey for advice on butterfly care, brewing an extremely weak SkeleGrow potion, crushing up fruit for "Natural fruit juice, that's what the book said," and generally nursing the wounded butterfly back to health.

It was late evening before the boys were satisfied enough with Jack's care to eat a quick dinner before they went right back to the butterfly books, perusing every species to determine what Jack was.

At last, the two men withdrew to a room where the boys wouldn't be able to hear their conversation and Snape held out a vial of vertaserum. "Time to tell the truth."

Sirius grimaced at the potion, but downed it all in one go. The effects were… weird, to say the least. Sirius felt like his memories were as clear as if he was living them, but his surroundings were fuzzy, and he felt like he'd had too much alcohol. But he did hear with startling clarity Snape's command to tell him what happened Halloween night 1981, and all the important events leading up to it.

"I was going to be the Secret Keeper," Sirius began. "James was inside with Julian and Harry. Julian had been upset, so James stayed with the two of them to keep them calm while Lily performed the charm. She was always the best at charms… And _Peter,_" he spat out the name, "was there. He had come to visit with Remus before we set up the charm since they weren't going to visit for a while. Keep people away from James and Lily and the twins. Remus apparated away, but _Peter_ didn't. He came over to me and Lily, looking all _nervous_ and _shy_ and _concerned_. He said that he was worried I was too obvious a choice to be Secret Keeper, that people would guess. He was so _sly_ about it. He convinced Lily and I that a change should be made.

"And _I_ suggested _him_," Sirius said, his voice full of disgust for himself. "_I_ suggested _he_ be the Secret Keeper, because no one would ever guess _groveling, pathetic, Peter Pettigrew_ was the Potters' Secret Keeper. He even tried to back out of it, not very hard, but me and Lily tried very hard to convince him. So he agreed, as long as we didn't tell anyone, not even James. Said the less people who knew the better. Said that since James still came out on Auror business sometimes we couldn't tell him. Said it was too risky.

"James still wanted to help people, but I wish he hadn't. His family was his priority, but he still got antsy sitting around. He didn't go on missions often, but he did go. So Lily and I agreed not to tell until the whole thing was over. Or at least until it looked like it wouldn't be over for years to come.

"I played right into his hands!" Sirius yelled, feeling more and more unbalanced and unstable and teetering a bit to one side. "I may as well have handed _Voldemort_ the keys to the front Door! I may as well have killed Lily myself! I—"

"FOCUS, BLACK!" Snape shouted, interrupting the destructive side trail.

Sirius breathed heavily for a few minutes before he managed to say, "No one knew but us three about the switch… I thought it was so _clever_. And then Peter betrayed them. Betrayed all of us. Went straight to Voldemort, I'll bet. Told them where James and Lily were. If James hadn't hit his head like he did, been knocked out and left for dead instead of _Voldemort_ finishing the job, he would've died just like Lily…

"I'd been on my way to visit. I got there and saw the house crumbling and heard the babies crying… I… I checked on Harry and Julian. They were still alive. Lily was dead. Thought James was too… all the blood… just pooling around his head…"

"… And you went after Pettigrew," Snape said with a sigh.

"Yeah. Order members started arriving so I knew Harry and Julian would be fine. I went after him right away. And he was _expecting it_. He blew up the street and everyone in it, including himself, I guess, laying all the blame on me. He _framed me_. He should've been a Slytherin, slimy snake would've fit right in."

"And then the aurors showed up and you went straight to Azkaban without a trial."

"_Wormtail_ was the real traitor."

The statement hung in the air for what seemed like forever before Snape handed Sirius a bottle of firewhiskey, told him he was going to put the boys to bed, and left.

Sirius sat down hard in a moth-eaten armchair with the bottle and drowned his sorrows.

.o.0.O.0.o.

The next morning saw Draco and Harry up bright and early, Snape sleeping soundly, and no sign of Sirius. The two boys went straight for their butterfly and let the adults sleep in while they tended to their wounded friend. They busied themselves with their butterfly books, finally identifying Jack's species (Red Admiral), and decided to wait until their respective godfathers came down for breakfast to eat (but made sure Jack had plenty of 'natural juice' to drink).

Neither Sirius nor Snape came out for breakfast.

"I'm _hungry,_" Draco whined, drumming his fingers on the butterfly book.

Harry shrugged, more used to the lack of food, and rested his chin on the table next to Jack.

"It's almost lunch time," Draco complained.

"Why do you think they're sleeping so long?" Harry asked, watching Jack's healing wing twitch a little.

Draco huffed. "Probably something to do with whatever they went off to talk about last night."

"We could be really loud to wake them up," Harry suggested. "If we're loud enough it'll probably get them up."

Draco considered the idea, tapping a finger on his chin as he always liked to do when he was thinking. "Maybe we could slam the doors a couple times?"

Harry chewed the inside of his lip and thought about it moment before saying, "Oh, I know. We could cook lunch or something, I know how since the Dursleys made me, and be really loud with all the pots and pans. Then when they come down they won't be mad because we'll have food for them."

Draco grinned. "Brilliant! Let's do it."

So Operation Food Wake Up Call was put into place and the two young wizards made the loudest racket they possibly could; slamming cabinet doors, clanging pans together as they removed them, banging on random objects when they felt there wasn't enough noise, etc.

The operation was a raging success. Not too long after Draco and Harry had set the table (with an unnecessary amount of clanging), Sirius and Snape stumbled into the little dining room, rumpled and smelling funny but awake.

"Good morning!" Harry greeted cheerfully, only shouting a _little_ bit. Even though the adults were already up, being loud _was_ a bit fun. And it was kind of funny how the adults kept flinching.

Both men winced at the volume and Draco, noticing the reaction, shouted a "GOOD MORNING!" as well.

Snape and Sirius cringed in pain.

"What's this?" Snape groused, staring incomprehensibly at the set table.

"Breakfast!" Harry exclaimed, bringing over a bowl of eggs.

"Well, technically lunch!" Draco said loudly, bringing over the plate of sizzling bacon. "But it's breakfast foods, bacon and eggs!"

"We got hungry!" Harry continued, still with raised volume. "So we thought you wouldn't mind if we made something!"

"Why are you shouting?" Sirius whined, squinting in the sunlight.

"Well, you weren't waking UP!" Draco yelled as he pulled out a chair and slid onto it.

Snape whimpered.

Sirius looked over at Snape as if he was just seeing him. "Did you get drunk too?"

Snape didn't answer, but his pained look was answer enough.

"What's drunk?" Harry asked innocently, climbing onto his chair.

"Is it something best friends do?" Draco added, a sly look in his eye that he exchanged with Harry.

"NO!" Sirius and Snape shouted at the same, both groaning afterward. They were most certainly NOT best friends, not even after the last night, and they didn't need a certain pair of seven year-old best friends getting any ideas.

.o.0.O.0.o.

After what Sirius and Snape took to calling _That Night_, Snape took a special interest in making sure both of their godsons were safe from their respective legal guardians. Draco went back to Malfoy Manor on weekends, setting off the occasionally bout of "accidental magic" with the help of Dobby just to reinforce the "need" for his apprenticeship with his godfather.

Sirius thought about leaving Harry with Snape and Draco for a little while to clean out a Grimmauld Place so he and Harry didn't need to keep mooching off Snape (which Sirius really was not comfortable with). Plus, he wanted to be somewhere with a few more protection wards than the minimal ones Spinner's End had. But when he suggested it to Snape the man was immediately against it.

"That place probably has more Dark Artifacts in it than the Department of Mysteries!" Snape exclaimed, thinking something along the lines of 'idiots Gryffindors.'

"I _know_ that," Sirius said impatiently. "That's why I was going to go clean it out."

At this point, Snape decided to mention the Prince inheritance from his mother's side—Eileen Prince. _Technically_ it wasn't his inheritance since his mother had been disowned and disinherited when she married a muggle. However, no one else was around to collect the inheritance. Snape had tried, briefly, but as busy as he was (spying on two different people for those same people, dealing with idiot students and exploding cauldrons) he didn't have the time or the know-how to accomplish such a feat.

Sirius suggested Dumbledore, which got him a glare and scathing comment about explaining why he wanted to collect the Prince inheritance _now_ of all times. So Sirius agreed to watch the boys while Snape went to try to claim his inheritance. Not exactly how Sirius expected things to go, but he was happy with the outcome. After all, he got to play with the kids instead of work. He was pretty sure he'd come out on top of this one.

Two weeks later they were moving into Prince Manor.

Harry was absolutely enchanted. Prince Manor was older and not quite as large or lavish as the Malfoys', so Draco wasn't as impressed, but Harry's excitement was, of course, rather infectious. Within a few minutes of their arrival Harry and Draco were running around "exploring!"

Sirius was just glad to be somewhere that was both exceedingly safe and did not remind Sirius uncomfortably of Snape.

At the end of summer, Lucius and Narcissa expressed their concern at Draco being away for so long. Snape spun them a half-truth about how Draco was quite talented but needed a lot of work on control. He also reminded them that magical apprenticeships lasted at least three years and he would need to see Draco often for that period of time. Narcissa was relieved. Lucius was not. However, Narcissa was able to calm her agitated husband and remind him that it was only temporary. Snape added that during the school year he would only be able to take him on the weekends anyway. Things were smoothed over easily after that.

So they fell into a routine of sorts. During the school year Snape and Draco were only at the Prince Manor on the weekends, leaving Harry and Sirius alone the rest of the week. During the summer Draco spent as much time as he could possibly weasel out of his parents at Prince Manor with his godfather and his best friend and his 'cool uncle' (a term Snape detested, but couldn't break the child of).

That routine lasted until the end of Draco's faux apprenticeship three years later. Then things got messy.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey, look at that. You don't hear from me for... the whole summer? Then** BOOM** two long chapters. Your welcome. Anyway. Next up is a James-Julian interlude, and then a dose of Draco before we move on to Hogwarts. Enjoy! [And please review if you did, I give out virtual cookies (::) (::) (::)]

Just one guest review to answer: Please don't explode. I wrote the next chapter really fast :)


	5. Gone, Gone, Gone

**Chapter 5**

**Gone, Gone, Gone**

_"Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo."_

"Quiet, Ajax," James said with a sigh.

The huge screech owl made an affronted sounding _hoo_.

"I know you're impatient," James said, fiddling with the quill in his hand. "But saying so will not make me write faster."

Ruffling his feathers a bit, Ajax glared at James.

"I just don't know what to say to him anymore, Ajax!" James burst out, dropping his quill on the table. "You'd think I'd have gotten at least _one_ letter back from him in the last eight years!"

The owl hoo-ed lightly, offended feathers smoothing down.

"I understand not being able to write while he was little, but he's nine now. Shouldn't he at least be able to write a short letter back?" James growled in frustration, smashing the would-be letter into a ball and hurling it across the room. It hit the wall with a soft tap and dropped to the floor, joining the sea of parchment balls that attested to both James' frustration and the length of time he'd spent trying to write a letter to his younger son.

"What if… what if he hates me?" James asked the owl, slumping onto his desk.

Ajax fluttered over to the arm of his chair and hoo-ed softly in comfort.

"Maybe he does," James said. "I left him with Petunia after all. What if she was horrible to him? She promised she'd take care of him, for… for Lily… but… what if she didn't? What if he hates me now?"

Ajax pecked lightly at James' sleeve.

Sighing, James reached over and smoothed a hand over the big owl's feathers. The faint squeak of shoes reached James' ears and he reflexively straightened up. Then he realized his office's door was slightly open. "Julian?" he asked.

The door silently inched open, a Julian slipped in, looking a little embarrassed.

"How much of that did you hear?" James asked.

Julian scuffed his shoe against the floor and said, "Just that bit about him hating you."

James sighed again and put away his discarded quill. "He still hasn't replied to any of my letters."

"Oh," was all Julian said.

James got the feeling that Julian didn't really know what to think of his little brother. He'd never met him, at least not that he could remember, and all he knew about him was that he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived and that made him vulnerable.

James scrubbed his hands over his face, remembering the early years, just after Lily had died. James and Remus had been taking care of Harry and Julian as best they could, but it was hard and dangerous. Half the Death Eaters didn't believe You-Know-Who was dead, and continued rampaging as if he wasn't, the other half thought it _might_ be true. After Frank and Alice had been tortured out of their minds, Dumbledore had come in and suggested Harry be separated from them and moved somewhere safe—with Petunia Dursley, to be specific. After all, Neville had only survived the attack on his parents because he hadn't been there.

Dumbledore explained the situation of the blood wards caused by Lily's selfless sacrifice, and how Harry would be completed protected from Death Eaters attacking or finding him. No one outside of Remus, Sirius, Peter, Dumbledore, and a few people on the inner circle of the Order knew Lily was having twins. Harry could disappear and no Death Eaters would know better, assuming Sirius hadn't told. They would only go after Julian, and Harry would be safe.

Now, James was almost wishing they'd kept Harry with them. Honestly, having Harry hate him was one of his worst nightmares. _Come on, James,_ he chided himself. _You know you could never have kept them both safe those first few years. We were jumping around too much to avoid the Death Eaters. Not to mention those close calls…_

"Come on, Dad," Julian said, walking over. "Let's go get some breakfast. We can go tease Uncle Remus too, that'll cheer you up."

James smiled at his son and chuckled. "Alright, come on, let's go."

Julian grinned and dragged his father out of his study and through the long halls of Potter Manor. They arrived in the dining room to find Remus already there with the Daily Prophet on the table next to his food.

Breaking into a run, Julian dashed over to the table and jumped into the chair across from his godfather. "Good morning, Uncle Remus!" he said, grinning.

Remus smiled. "Good morning, Julian."

James grinned as well, following his son at a much more sedate pace, and sat down at the head of the table between Remus and Julian. "Morning, Remus."

"Morning," Remus replied. "Not quite as energetic as we used to be, huh?"

James laughed. "No, not quite."

A small pop was followed by a high-pitched voice saying, "Is sirs wanting breakfast, Master James?"

"Yes, Penny, thank you," James answered.

"Just the usual, Penny," Julian added.

The house elf nodded and disappeared with a pop, reappearing a moment later with two trays full of breakfast.

"Thanks, Penny!" Julian said cheerfully, and the house elf smiled fondly at him before disappearing again. He took a huge bite of his food and asked, "So, what's in the papers today, Uncle Remus?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Remus scolded, looking disapprovingly at James, who hadn't said anything about it.

James shrugged innocently and continued to eat his breakfast.

Remus sighed in exasperation and answered, "Nothing terribly exciting, Julian."

Julian squinted at the paper, having trouble reading it when it was upside down, so he just asked. "What's on the front page?"

Remus grimaced but replied, "Just another piece about how Sirius Black still hasn't been found."

Julian grimaced too while James outright scowled, glaring at the paper like he wanted it to explode.

"It's been over two years, you know," Remus said, absent-mindedly tracing the letters of the article's heading with his finger. "And no one knows anything of where he's gone or what he's done."

"Well, at least he hasn't done anything really horrible, right?" Julian said. "I mean, he hasn't gone off on a rampage and started killing muggles or anything."

Remus smiled a little. "I guess there's a bright side to everything, Julian."

James thought it was a very dim bright side, but he didn't say that out loud. Just thought about how he wished Sirius had shown himself or tried to do something horrible. Then they could have caught him and put him back in Azakaban where he belonged. Then James wouldn't be constantly worried about his traitor best friend coming to murder him or Julian. Not that it was likely. It had been two years after all. Who knows where in the world Sirius was now. Probably the Bahamas or something.

"So, Uncle Remus," Julian began, and James tuned back into reality to see Remus taking a drink of his water and Julian grinning mischievously. "Have you asked Beatrix out yet?"

As planned, Remus choked on his water, sending Julian into a fit of laughter. James tried to hold back, but he couldn't help chuckling either.

Remus coughed to clear his throat and set down his water, glaring at the two Potters. "Hasn't that gotten old yet?"

"No!" Julian answered.

James grinned. "It's still pretty funny. It might be less if you didn't react so violently every time."

"_Beatrix_ is a ninety year-old woman with a dirty mind," Remus reminded him. "If someone suggested that to you, James, I don't doubt you would be similarly disturbed."

"But she liiiiiikes you," Julian sang, grinning madly.

"I blame you for how your son turned out," Remus said, jabbing his fork toward James with mock-anger. "I did everything in my power to turn him into a decent human being."

"Hey!" Julian exclaimed. "I'm decent."

"Decent people don't put disturbing images into other people's heads," Remus said.

"Aw, come on, Uncle Remus," Julian said. "It was all in good fun."

James smiled and leaned back in his chair as he watched his son and his closest remaining friend bantering. Sometimes, this was just what he needed to lift his spirits. They went back and forth for a little before Remus told him to hurry up and finish his breakfast with a meaningful look that told James they were going to try to get something out of him. Since he wasn't in a terrible mood, he decided to just sit back and let it happen.

Julian quickly polished off the rest of his breakfast and turned toward his father. "So, Dad," he said. "I was wondering if we could go to Diagon Alley today."

James frowned. Usually he wasn't terribly against it, but the article about Sirius just made him wary and (admittedly) paranoid.

"Come on, Dad," Julian wheedled. "There haven't been any Death Eater attacks in _ages_, and we haven't been to Diagon Alley in a while."

James pressed his lips together and thought about it. Julian had a point. It hadn't been really very dangerous recently, and Sirius wasn't likely to attack, not in such a crowded place.

"Plus, Diagon Alley is full of people, so I'd be really hard to find in all those people as long as I wore a hat or something," Julian continued, and James got the feeling Remus had helped him with his arguments. "_And_ Death Eaters probably wouldn't attack in Diagon Alley where they could be seen really easily and caught really easily. And—"

"Alright, alright," James said, holding his hands up. "Say no more. You can go."

Julian face broke out into a huge grin and he jumped off his chair to give James a tight hug. "Thanks, Dad!"

"Actually, I want to talk to Dumbledore about something," James said, a half-plan forming in his mind. "How about you and Remus go ahead and I'll catch up with you at Fortescue's for ice cream after lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Juilan said. "I'm gonna go get ready."

With that, the little boy was out the door and down the hall, excited for his trip.

Remus looked at James and raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to talk to Dumbledore about?"

"Harry," James said simply. "It's been a long time since we left him at the Dursley's, and, as Julian pointed out, there haven't been any Death Eater attacks in a while."

Remus nodded, a knowing look in his eye. "You still haven't gotten any letters back, have you?"

James sighed. Of course he couldn't get anything past Remus. He'd probably already guessed what James' thought process had been this morning. "No, I haven't. I just want to make sure he's alright."

"And you want to talk to Dumbledore about taking him back, don't you?" Remus said.

James chuckled and shook his head in fond exasperation. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Remus smiled. "To be honest, I'm surprised you waited this long."

James good cheer dropped. "I just wanted him to be safe…" He stared down at his empty plate and hesitantly asked, "You don't… you don't think he'll hate me for it, do you?"

"Harry? He's young," Remus asked. "Children do tend to forgive easily. And if he really hates it there, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to leave. And if he doesn't forgive at first… I'm sure he'll understand as he gets older, James. Just be honest with him."

James nodded. "You're right. I'm off to see Dumbledore than." As he stood, he couldn't help but be grateful that, if nothing else, Harry had been safe.

.o.0.O.0.o.

"Are you sure that's wise, James?" Dumbledore asked with a frown.

"He's my son, Albus," James said firmly. "I've left him with the Dursleys' so long only for his protection, and so I could focus on keeping Julian safe. That reason no longer holds up. I'd like to raise my own son, Albus, not leave him to Lily's sister."

"James," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "You know what I believe about Voldemort returning."

Resolutely _not_ flinching at the name, James plowed on. "Yes, and I believe you. I'll continue to train Julian, and help prepare him in every way I can. I refuse to believe that I can't do that and raise Harry at the same time."

"You're sure?" Dumbledore said slowly.

"Yes," James replied stiffly. "Potter Manor is secure. The Order spent years ensuring that. He'll be safe there. And it's not like I'll be announcing his existence to the world. No former Death Eaters or wannabe Death Eaters will know anything about him until he leaves for Hogwarts."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, James. I can see I won't change your mind on this at all."

"Thank you," James said, and paused a moment. "I mean it, Albus. Thank you for all the help you've given us."

Dumbledore smiled genuinely at that. "You're welcome, my dear boy. No go on, pick up your son."

James grinned and left Dumbledore's office, following the familiar hall though Hogwarts and back out to Hogsmeade where he apparated straight to Little Whinging.

Feeling giddy and nervous, James had to stop himself from running like a madman all the way to 4 Privet drive. Of course, that didn't stop him from walking quite briskly. He didn't even pay attention to the immaculate front yards as he went by. He just had one focus, and before he knew it he was knocking on the Dursleys' door.

A painfully long minute later, the door swung open to reveal the scowling face of Petunia Dursley. "What do you want?" she snapped immediately open seeing him.

"I'm here to take Harry," James replied, glancing behind her to see if Harry was there.

"He isn't here," Petunia sniffed.

"Well, where is he?" James asked as reasonably as he could, wondering if Harry was out with friends or something.

"I don't know," Petunia said angrily. "One of your kind already came and picked him up. Quite some time ago, in fact."

Worry started to claw its way into James' stomach. "I didn't send anyone. Who were they? What did they say?"

"Some freak that said he was his godfather and come to take him away," Petunia answered haughtily. "He said that if anyone came looking for the boy to tell them that Sirius Black had him. That's it."

With that, Petunia slammed the door in James' face, but it felt more like someone had punch him in the gut.

"No," James breathed. How could Sirius have him? How could he have found him? Why would he take him? James barely held himself back in time to slip between the houses for a less obvious place to disapparate. As soon as he decided he was hidden enough James apparated away, right back to Hogsmead.

He hardly even remembered running through the halls of Hogwarts, through the secret passageways and shortcuts back into Dumbledore's office.

When he got there, Dumbledore looked up from his desk, just where James had left him, and asked, eyes twinkling. "Back so soon, my boy? Change your mind?"

"He's gone," James blurted out.

The twinkle vanished from Dumbledore's eyes. "What?"

"Petunia said someone showed up claiming to be Harry's godfather and told them that if anyone came looking to tell them that Sirius Black had him," James said in a rush. _"He's gone."_

Dumbledore was properly shocked for a moment, and his silence sparked something in James' temper.

"You said he'd be safe!" James shouted. "You PROMISED! Now he's gone! And that bastard has him!"

"James—" Dumbledore tried to begin, but James cut him off.

"NO! I TRUSTED YOU! YOU PROMISED ME HE'D BE SAFE. NOW HE COULD BE DEAD OR WORSE! DID YOU LIE TO ME ABOUT THOSE WARDS? HOW COULD SIRIUS GET PAST THEM? HOW DID HE FIND HIM AT ALL? WHY WOULD HE GO AFTER HIM? WHY… why…"

"James," Dumbledore said quietly. "I truly believed he was safe. Trust me, I will do everything in my power to find out how Sirius was able to get past them and take Harry. Did Petunia say when he came?"

James heaved in a few breaths before he managed to answer, "No. Only that it was a while ago."

Dumbledore stood up. "Then I shall go to her myself and get as many details as I can. I assume you are heading to the Auror Office?"

James nodded, panic starting to give way to purpose.

"Then there is no time to waste," Dumbledore said.

That, James thought, was the truest thing he'd heard all day.

.o.0.O.0.o.

Julian and Remus were worried. James hadn't showed up at Fortescue's that afternoon. They had waited a while, but eventually they decided to keep wandering Diagon Alley. Remus told Julian what James had been planning to do, and ever since he had Julian couldn't help but fear that his younger brother _had_ told his father he hated him. But Remus told him that if that was true they best leave James alone for a little while.

Nevertheless, their day was a little less joyful after that.

It was late evening by the time the decided to return home. The candles in the manor were low and dim, and the mood was dark and dismal, the kind that made you feel like talking out loud was off-limits and everyone should only be whispering.

Penny quietly told them that Master James was in his study, and the two of them wordlessly trekked through the halls toward it.

When they got there Julian hesitantly pushed the door open and saw his father slumped over his desk with a bottle of Firewhiskey in one hand and shot glass in the other. He clearly hadn't drank much, the bottle wasn't even a fourth empty, but he looked sufficiently depressed.

"Dad?" Julian said hesitantly. "Did he… does he hate you?"

"I wouldn't know," James said dully, swirling a bit of golden-orange liquid in the bottom of his glass.

Julian and Remus frowned. "What does that mean?" Remus asked, approaching the desk.

"He's gone," James said emotionlessly, still staring at his glass.

"What, you mean dead?" Julian asked, following Remus over.

"No," James said. "Dumbledore checked Hogwarts' registration list, he's still on it so he's still alive. That's the only good news."

"Where is he?" Remus asked quietly.

"Sirius took him," James said lifelessly. "A few months after he escaped Azkaban."

Remus' knees went weak and he collapsed into one of the chairs on the other side of James' desk. "W- how?"

"Dunno," James mumbled as Julian pulled the other chair over and sat down. "Just found fim and took him. The wards didn't stop him. He's had him for two years now, Remus. _Two years_… and I—" here his voice broke and a single tear slipped out of his eye.

Remus slumped in the chair and put his head in his hands.

Julian laced his hands together and tried to decide how he was supposed to feel. He didn't know Harry at all, couldn't even remember him since they were separated before they turned two. But… he hated Sirius Black. He was the reason he didn't know Harry and the reason he didn't know his mum. And he hated that the man got away with it.

One day, he promised himself. One day Sirius Black would pay for what he'd done.

* * *

**A/N: I don't even know what I'm doing... I've never updated so much so fast O.O I feel... accomplished... Heh, this is weird, but it's a good weird. Anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed :) Next up Is the messy part of Draco's "apprenticeship." I hope you all like aaaaaangst. Oh, and thank you all so much to those who reviewed! You guys are the reason I keep writing :D You review, I write, very good deal, yeah? Okay, responses to anon reveiwers:**

Guest: Oh thank you! I'm very very glad it's different :)

Adenoide: review for chapter 3: Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean about Dumbledore putting blocks on Harry's magic. Dumbledore's not vindictive, he just has an "ends justify the means" mentality that sometimes leads him to make the wrong choices for the right reasons. He hasn't done anything to keep Harry from reaching his potential other than removing him from the wizarding world where he was, at the time, in danger. As for the taking Harry to the doctor, Sirius doesn't see the need, other than Harry being a bit thin which he can fix with a lot of food. The adoption-by-blood-potion thing is a fan concept, I believe (you can correct me if I'm wrong), and again Sirius doesn't see a real need. His goal is to keep Harry safe, happy, and healthy, which adoption won't help him with. If it does in the future, he'll do it in a heartbeat. And yes, Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived, which is why I labeled the story WBWL (Wrong Boy-Who_lived). And I'm glad you liked the part where Harry confided in Draco :)

Jess: I'm sorry, but your review made no sense. I'm afraid I didn't understand what you meant by "the story reads like it's part of a series" and "if you want to keep your readers I suggest you give them something to work with." As far as I can tell, everyone seems to be following the plot just fine, and I'm not sure where you don't understand it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for constructive criticism, but you really didn't give me enough to go on. I don't really get what you mean by the information needs to be woven into the story instead of posted afterward in an AN. I didn't post any info in that AN except a promise that I would give that information in later chapters. If you'd like to review/PM with an account instead of an reviewing anonymously, I would loved to be able to discuss it with you and try to do better. As it is, I'm not even sure you'll read this response. \\_('')_/

**That's all for today, folks :)**


	6. Revision

**Temporary Hiatus**

I hate to have to do this because I hate to have to read this, but this is not a chapter update.

So, I haven't posted in a while because I got a little discouraged with how much people weren't understanding the plot. I hate to blame misunderstandings on the readers, because I feel like everything is perfectly clear, but I guess I haven't been communicating things well enough to you guys. A lot of you have raised objections about the way characters are acting, mostly James and some Dumbledore, and while I feel like there's a logical and believable explanation to all those question,

1) I feel like others aren't following the same logic as I am

2) it takes a lot of brain power to answer those questions all the time :P

3) I'm really discouraged to have to read those questions because it means something must have been missing from the plot.

I'm pretty sure the problem comes from me jumping to far ahead and starting the story when Harry was seven instead of going through all the beginning details that I thought might be a bit too boring. Apparently I can't get away with explaining things as we go since everybody has their own ideas.

**All this is to say, I'm revising the whole story and starting it much earlier in the timeline to explain people's actions to the readers' satisfaction (hopefully). I'm sorry, but you'll just have to bear with me as I redo the plot in some places so people are less confused. It might be a little while until I update again.**

I won't be deleting the story, just all the chapter and then posting on this story again as we go along.

Thanks for understanding, and thank you especially to those who were very supportive :) I hope you'll enjoy the rewritten version of the story as much as the first.

~ Baywood

P.S. no hard feelings, guys, I'm pretty sure it was my fault.

**Update: Okay, I'm not revising the whole plot, just tweaking it. Will tell you guys when I have it fixed.**


End file.
